(Yuding) Xingli kaoyuan (御定)星曆考原

(Yuding) Xingli kaoyuan (御定)星曆考原 is an astrological almanack written by Li Guangdi 李光地 (1642-1718), courtesy name Jinqing 晉卿, style Hou'an 厚庵 or Rongcun 榕村. He hailed from Anxi 安溪 in the prefecture of Quanzhou 泉州, Fujian. His highest post was Grand Academician (daxueshi 大學士) of the Hall of Literary Profundity (Wenyuange 文淵閣). Li was a famous Neo-Confucian master of his time and took part in the compilation of the compendium Xingli jingyi 性理精義, the collected works of Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200), Zhuzi quanshu 朱子全書, and a kind of lexicon on the Book of Changes, Zhouyi zhezhong 周易折中.

The almanack is the result of a compilation begun in 1683 of two books, Xuanze tongshu 選擇通書, and Wannianli 萬年曆. These two texts were unified in a project begun in 1713. Li Guangdi and his team used Cao Zhengui's 曹振圭 almanack Lishi mingyuan 曆事明原. Each of the 6 juan of the resulting book constitutes a chapter. The text is guided by the ancient belief in auspicious spirits (jishen 吉神) and demons (shashen 煞神), the presence of which on certain days might influence human activities like business transactions, farming, "going out", marriage, or activities by the emperor like pronouncing edicts or amnesties, or carrying out sacrifices. The almanack, therefore, explains which days and hours were influenced by Yin and Yang 陰陽 or were deemed as benefitting (yi 宜) or as "taboo days" (ji 忌).

Figure 1. Day list of the Xingli kaoyuan 星曆考原

List of positive days for proclamations of investitures and punishments. Siku quanshu edition.

Li Guangdi's book evaluates a host of ancient writings, each with its own views on the auspiciousness of certain days and hours. It tries to create a "scholarly correct" balance of statements, following the concept of Yin and Yang and the Five Agents (wuxing 五行).

The text is included in the imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.